Gumpaste Parijat Flowers – Remembering Aaji

There are some things that are etched firmly in your memory. Like this flower for instance. There was a huge Parijat tree where my Aaji lived. During summer vacations whenever and if ever I went to her house, I’d get bored because I was the only girl of five siblings. My Aaji (grandmother), to counter the boredom, would often send me down to the Parijat tree every morning to pick flowers that were lying down on the ground. I would bring them up in a cute wicker basket and then she would hand me a thread and a needle. She showed me how yo make a garland. This garland would then adorn the frame of Lord Mangesh and Goddess Shantadurga.

Those were good times. Thanks to these sugar flowers I was taken back in time once again